Bottom tip for the leg or pole of a pogo stick

ABSTRACT

A bottom tip for the leg or pole of a Pogo stick, which tip comprises a member formed of a resilient material, such as rubber or the like, provided with an intermediate annular groove or recess in which the lower end of the tubular leg or pole is received so that a portion of the resilient material of the tip is within the tubular leg adjacent the bottom thereof and a portion of the tip surrounds the leg, and in which the bottom edge of the leg is spaced from the bottom of the annular groove or recess, with a rigid retaining ring surrounding the outer portion of the resilient member.

United States Patet [1 1 Matsuda 1 May 8, 1973 54] BOTTOM TIP FOR THE LEG 0R POLE 524,871 8/1894 Sprague et al ..273/70 OF A POGO STICK Primary Examiner-Anton O. Oechsle [75] Inventor. Hari Matsuda, Evanston, [11. Assistant Examiner H- S. Israel [73] Assignee: Martin Yale Industries, llnc., Att0rneyMax R. Kraus Chicago, Ill. [22] Filed: Jan. 10, 1972 [57] ABSTRACT A bottom tip for the leg or pole of a Pogo stick, which [21] Appl' tip comprises a member formed of a resilient material,

such as rubber or the like, provided with an inter- 52 us. Cl. .272/s7 1:, 273/70, 135/64 mediate annular groove or recess in which the lower 51 Int. Cl. ..A63b 25/08 end of the tubular leg or P is received so that a P 58 Field of Search ..272/s7 E; 273/70- 0f the 65mm Of the P is Wihih the 135 /6 bular leg adjacent the bottom thereof and a portion of the tip surrounds the leg, and in which the bottom [56] Reerences Cited edge of the leg is spaced from the bottom of the annular groove or recess, with a rigid retaining ring sur- UNITED STATES PATENTS rounding the outer portion of the resilient member.

2,865,633 12/1958 Woodall ..272/57 E 7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures BOTTOM TIP FOR THE LEG OR POLE OF A POGO STICK BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is conventional to provide the bottom of the leg or pole of a Pogo stick with a cup-shaped rubber tip which surrounds the bottom of the leg or pole. The tip is subjected to continuous stress and strain due to the nature of the function of the Pogo stick, where the child or bearing against the bottom of the rubber tip, the rubber tip is damaged or ruptured so that it loses its effectiveness and has to be frequently replaced, which results in annoyance and expense. Consequently, the manufacturers of Pogo sticks have to either supply a considerable number of such extra tips with the sale of each Pogo stick, or the customer has to write and order same from the manufacturer. In the use of such prior art cupshaped rubber tips, the stress and strain on the cup is principally against the bottom of the cup, wherein the bottom edge of the tubular leg cuts through the bottom wall of the cup and destroys the effectiveness of the cup, thus requiring a replacement.

This invention eliminates the objections inherent in the use of such prior rubber cup tips by providing a resilient member in the nature of a resilient plug body which has an intermediate channel or groove which tits on the tubular lower end of the leg or pole of the Pogo stick so that a portion of the body of the resilient member is confined within the interior of the tubular leg or pole and a portion of same surrounds the bottom of the leg, and in which the upper end of the body portion of the resilient body within the tubular leg abuts against a stop member within the tubular leg, and in which a retaining ring surrounds the upper portion of the resilient member. The lower edge of the tubular leg is spaced from the bottom of the channel or groove. As the person supported on the Pogo stick hops around on it, the stress and strain on the resilient member will be distributed around the circumferential body of the plug or tip rather than at the bottom of the tip, as previously.

With this invention, as pressure is applied against the central portion of the resilient plug body, the stop member within the tubular leg will bear against the central portion of the plug body and as the pressure bears down against the central portion it will cause the resilient plug body to be pressed laterally against the annular wall of the tubular leg, thus, the pressure caused by the jumping will be exerted laterally within the leg of the Pogo stick and this will absorb the shock imposed on the resilient plug. In addition, the lower edge of the tubular leg is spaced from contact with the bottom of the groove or recess into which the leg fits so that there is substantially no contact or at most a minimal contact between the lower edge of the leg and the bottom of the plug body. The retaining member which fits around the exterior of the plug body will aid in the compression process as the resilient plug engages the floor or ground surface to thereby place the greatest pressure against the side of the tubular leg and away from the bottom edge of the leg. All of the foregoing produces an effective tip which can withstand the continuous jolting of the tip against a floor or ground surface, and with such a construction the tip or plug initially supplied with the product will normally last for the life of the Pogo stick.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a Pogo stick with my invention applied to the leg of the stick.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing the tip secured to the bottom of the leg; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33 of FIG. 2.

The details of the Pogo stick per se are conventional and form no part of this invention. This invention may be utilized in connection with a Pogo stick described in US. Pat. No. 2,871,016, or any other type of Pogo stick, all of which utilize a leg or pole which rests on the ground and which receives the impact. A conventional Pogo stick is described herein in its briefest form principally to orient this invention with respect to the leg or pole.

The conventional Pogo stick is indicated generally by the numeral 10 and comprises a frame member generally indicated at 12, formed of a pair of tubular members 14 of identical construction, the upper ends of which are turned outwardly to form conventional handle engaging means 16. Secured to the lower end of the spaced tubular members 14 is a support for the feet generally designated by the numeral 18 on which the occupant rests his feet when jumping on the stick. A tubular leg or pole 20, made preferably of metal, is suitably supported between the tubular bars of the frame and is suitably secured thereto. A coil spring 22 surrounds the leg or pole 20 and said spring abuts at its lower end against an abutment 22 secured to the leg or pole, with the upper end of the spring bearing against an abutment 24 secured by brackets 26 to the tubular members 14 of the frame. This is a conventional construction. As the occupant, with his feet resting on the foot rest 18 and his hands on the handles 16, hops about, the frame member together with the foot rest moves up and down relative to the leg or pole 20. This is conventional and forms no part of this invention.

The invention herein is directed to the resilient member generally designated by the numeral 30 and to the manner in which it is secured and supported on the lower tubular end 211 of the tubular leg or pole 20 to form the bottom tip for the leg. The resilient member 30 is formed of rubber or other resilient material and same comprises a solid plug-like body 32 of generally annular shape, with the lower portion 34 having an enlarged diameter so that the exterior of same with the reduced diameter at the upper end merges into the lower portion by an arcuate or outwardly flared portion 36. The top surface 33 of the resilient plug body is generally flat or planar as is the bottom surface 40. The bottom has a rounded corner 42. The plug body 32 is provided with intermediate annular recess or elongated annular groove 44 which is open at the top as at 46, with the bottom 48 thereof extending into the lower portion of the member.

The tubular leg 20 is shaped to provide an annular inwardly extending head 50 formed from the material of the leg and said inwardly extending bead is spaced from the bottom edge 23 of the tubular leg 20. As best seen in cross-section in FIG. 2, the inwardly extending bead 50 forms an annular shoulder 51. A metal disk 52 is inserted into the interior of the tubular leg from the bottom thereof until it abuts the shoulder 51 which stops the further inward movement of the disk. The resilient member 30 is then inserted on the lower end 21 of the tubular leg by alining the tubular bottom edge 23 with the annular recess or groove 44 and moving the resilient member upwardly until the upper end of the resilient member is in abutment with the metal disk 52, as shown in FIG. 2. This limits the positioning of the resilient member relative to the tubular leg. As can be seen, the lower edge 23 of the tubular leg is spaced from the bottom 48 of the groove 44 and the said unoccupied space is indicated by the numeral 54.

A metal retaining ring 56 is positioned on the upper portion of the resilient member 30. The retaining ring 56 has a vertical annular wall 57 which abuts against the exterior of the upper end of the resilient member and the metal ring is turned inwardly to form an annular flange 58 which rests against the exterior top surface of the resilient member 30, there being an enlarged annular opening 59 in the ring 56 which surrounds the tubular leg 20. It will be noted that a portion 60 of the resilient member is positioned inside the tubular wall 21 of the tubular leg and a portion 62 of said resilient body is positioned around the exterior of the tubular wall 21 of said tubular leg, thus, the lower end wall 21 of the tubular leg 20 is surrounded internally and externally by the resilient plug-like body 32.

As the bottom of the resilient member 30 bears against the ground or floor surface G, with the weight of the occupant on the leg 20 and on the stick, the resilient plug-like body 32 will be compressed between the floor or ground surface and the metal disk 52 which will cause the resilient material 60 within the tubular leg to be pressured laterally against the annular wall 21 of the tubular leg 20. Also, the body of the resilient member 30 which extends exteriorly of the tubular leg, indicated by the number 62, will be compressed so that the upper portion of said exterior body will be compressed and retained by the retaining ring 56 and apply an inward lateral pressure against the outside of the tubular wall 21 of the tubular leg. This action serves to prevent the lower edge 32 of the tubular leg from engaging the bottom 48 of the groove. Thus, pressure is applied from the leg against the upper flat surface 38 of the resilient member 30 and at the bottom 40 of the resilient member and this causes the pressure to be exerted laterally, as above described. For this reason the tubular leg of the stick does not cut into the resilient member and thereby avoids any damage to it. Thus, the resilient member may be maintained on the leg for a long period of time without the necessity of replacing same, such as would occur in the use of the cup-shaped resilient member.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a Pogo stick including a leg or supporting pole and a frame member movable with respect to the leg on which the occupant stands, the invention comprising a body member formed of a resilient material secured to the lower end of the leg, said body member having a portion thereof extending inside the leg adjacent the bottom and a portion surrounding the outside of the leg, means for limiting movement of the resilient body member with respect to the end of the leg so that when the resilient body member is compressed as in jumping on the stick lateral pressure will be exerted against the lower end of the leg, said last mentioned means including a retaining member which is a metal ring which surrounds a portion of the exterior of the resilient member to limit the lateral expansion of said resilient body, said metal ring having an inwardly extending flange at the top thereof which engages the top of the exterior portion of the resilient body.

2. A structure as set forth in claim 1 in which the lower portion of the leg is tubular and in which the resilient body is provided with an annular recess or groove to receive the end of the tubular leg.

3. A structure as set forth in claim 1 in which the leg is tubular and has a shoulder and the inner end of the resilient member is adjacent said shoulder to limit the inward movement of the resilient member relative to the leg.

4. In combination, a Pogo stick including a leg or supporting pole, the lower portion of which is tubular, and a frame member movable with respect to the leg on which the occupant stands, the invention comprising a body member formed of a resilient material having an annular groove or recess to receive the lower end of the leg, with the bottom of the groove or recess spaced from the bottom of the leg to provide an unoccupied area, said body member having a portion thereof extending inside the leg adjacent the bottom and a portion surrounding the outside of the leg, means for limiting movement of the resilient body member with respect to the end of the leg so that when the resilient body member is compressed as in jumping on the stick lateral pressure will be exerted against the lower end of the leg.

5. In combination, a Pogo stick including a leg or supporting pole, the lower portion of which is tubular and provided with a shoulder, and a frame member movable with respect to the leg on which the occupant stands, the invention comprising a body member formed of a resilient material secured to the lower end of the leg, a metal disk positioned inside the tubular portion of the leg and abutting against said shoulder, said body member having a portion thereof extending inside the leg adjacent the bottom and a portion surrounding the outside of the leg, with the inner end of the resilient member inside the leg abutting against the disk so that when the resilient member is compressed it will also apply pressure against the disk to absorb some of the shock, means for limiting movement of the resilient body member with respect to the end of the leg so that when the resilient body member is compressed as in jumping on the stick lateral pressure will be exerted against the lower end of the leg.

6. A structure as set forth in claim 5 in which a retaining ring surrounds the resilient member for a portion of its height.

7. A structure as set forth in claim 5 in which the lower portion of the resilient body has a greater diameter than the upper portion. 

1. In combination, a Pogo stick including a leg or supporting pole and a frame member movable with respect to the leg on which the occupant stands, the invention comprising a body member formed of a resilient material secured to the lower end of the leg, said body member having a portion thereof extending inside the leg adjacent the bottom and a portion surrounding the outside of the leg, means for limiting movement of the resilient body member with respect to the end of the leg so that when the resilient body member is compressed as in jumping on the stick lateral pressure will be exerted against the lower end of the leg, said last mentioned means including a retaining member which is a metal ring which surrounds a portion of the exterior of the resilient member to limit the lateral expansion of said resilient body, said metal ring having an inwardly extending flange at the top thereof which engages the top of the exterior portion of the resilient body.
 2. A structure as set forth in claim 1 in which the lower portion of the leg is tubular and in which the resilient body is provided with an annular recess or groove to receive the end of the tubular leg.
 3. A structure as set forth in claim 1 in which the leg is tubular aNd has a shoulder and the inner end of the resilient member is adjacent said shoulder to limit the inward movement of the resilient member relative to the leg.
 4. In combination, a Pogo stick including a leg or supporting pole, the lower portion of which is tubular, and a frame member movable with respect to the leg on which the occupant stands, the invention comprising a body member formed of a resilient material having an annular groove or recess to receive the lower end of the leg, with the bottom of the groove or recess spaced from the bottom of the leg to provide an unoccupied area, said body member having a portion thereof extending inside the leg adjacent the bottom and a portion surrounding the outside of the leg, means for limiting movement of the resilient body member with respect to the end of the leg so that when the resilient body member is compressed as in jumping on the stick lateral pressure will be exerted against the lower end of the leg.
 5. In combination, a Pogo stick including a leg or supporting pole, the lower portion of which is tubular and provided with a shoulder, and a frame member movable with respect to the leg on which the occupant stands, the invention comprising a body member formed of a resilient material secured to the lower end of the leg, a metal disk positioned inside the tubular portion of the leg and abutting against said shoulder, said body member having a portion thereof extending inside the leg adjacent the bottom and a portion surrounding the outside of the leg, with the inner end of the resilient member inside the leg abutting against the disk so that when the resilient member is compressed it will also apply pressure against the disk to absorb some of the shock, means for limiting movement of the resilient body member with respect to the end of the leg so that when the resilient body member is compressed as in jumping on the stick lateral pressure will be exerted against the lower end of the leg.
 6. A structure as set forth in claim 5 in which a retaining ring surrounds the resilient member for a portion of its height.
 7. A structure as set forth in claim 5 in which the lower portion of the resilient body has a greater diameter than the upper portion. 